Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Belite Bio in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Belite Bio in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Belite Bio from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Belite Bio from $223.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $217.00 price target on Belite Bio in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $203.00.

Belite Bio Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BLTE opened at $161.08 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a PE ratio of -63.67 and a beta of -1.23. Belite Bio has a 1 year low of $59.12 and a 1 year high of $200.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $146.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.55.

Belite Bio (NASDAQ:BLTE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 15th. The company reported ($0.34) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.60) by $0.26. Analysts expect that Belite Bio will post -3.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Belite Bio news, insider Hendrik Peter Scholl sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.24, for a total transaction of $1,452,400.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,178,600. This trade represents a 40.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nathan L. Mata sold 666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.21, for a total transaction of $102,037.86. Following the sale, the insider owned 440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,412.40. This represents a 60.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 25,666 shares of company stock worth $3,749,438 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 13.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Belite Bio

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Belite Bio during the second quarter worth about $147,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Belite Bio during the second quarter worth approximately $547,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new stake in shares of Belite Bio in the second quarter valued at approximately $190,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Belite Bio by 45.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $726,000 after acquiring an additional 3,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its position in Belite Bio by 380.7% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 11,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $839,000 after purchasing an additional 8,976 shares during the last quarter. 0.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Belite Bio

Belite Bio, Inc (NASDAQ: BLTE) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing small molecule therapeutics for metabolic and inflammatory diseases. Leveraging a proprietary drug-discovery platform, the company aims to address conditions such as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and obesity by targeting pathways involved in fibrosis, inflammation and metabolic regulation.

Belite Bio’s pipeline includes multiple candidates in preclinical and early clinical development stages.